I agree that at first it is very bland apart from the 'Waves' of introduction.
I've been clicking through the examples which load up more waves in my view.
Doing so has started to fill out my wave space and has been giving me a sense of how it grows.

As for finding uses for myself… I think I can see two so far;
1) Personal note taking
2) Productivity

About 1) Personal note taking: Remember Google Notebook? The note taking system that is no longer supported by Google? I see Google Wave as Google Notebook on steroids. Everything you could do in Google Reader you can do with Wave. Maybe the framework and method of application are not identical, but achieving the end result is achievable. Oh and the social component is something Google Notebook did never get to.

About 2) Productivity. I'm a great fan of David Allens Getting Things Done system. I implemented it in a few system (Evernote, Paper based, Google Reader, Gmailand others) and I can see Google Wave as being capable of hosting the GTD methodology. Features such as Inbox, Archive, Tags, Pings, Contacts (and Groups), Folders, Searches can contribute to the GTD Methodology facets of Calendar, Projects, Actions, Next Actions, Waiting For, Someday/Maybe, References and Trash.

As for the application I can see an area for improvement. At the moment when you resize your browser window or collapse another panel within wave, all other components get refreshed. Too bad if you are watching an embedded YouTube Video at the time… it simply stops and is poised to play from the start again. If panel manipulation didn't refresh the remaining panels that would be an immediate functional improvement.

Best of regards and see you soon riding a Wave with me,
Sam Katakouzinos
P.S. Again, thanks for the Google Wave invitation!

I agree that at first it is very bland apart from the 'Waves' of introduction.
I've been clicking through the examples which load up more waves in my view.
Doing so has started to fill out my wave space and has been giving me a sense of how it grows.

As for finding uses for myself… I think I can see two so far;
1) Personal note taking
2) Productivity

About 1) Personal note taking: Remember Google Notebook? The note taking system that is no longer supported by Google? I see Google Wave as Google Notebook on steroids. Everything you could do in Google Reader you can do with Wave. Maybe the framework and method of application are not identical, but achieving the end result is achievable. Oh and the social component is something Google Notebook did never get to.

About 2) Productivity. I'm a great fan of David Allens Getting Things Done system. I implemented it in a few system (Evernote, Paper based, Google Reader, Gmailand others) and I can see Google Wave as being capable of hosting the GTD methodology. Features such as Inbox, Archive, Tags, Pings, Contacts (and Groups), Folders, Searches can contribute to the GTD Methodology facets of Calendar, Projects, Actions, Next Actions, Waiting For, Someday/Maybe, References and Trash.

As for the application I can see an area for improvement. At the moment when you resize your browser window or collapse another panel within wave, all other components get refreshed. Too bad if you are watching an embedded YouTube Video at the time… it simply stops and is poised to play from the start again. If panel manipulation didn't refresh the remaining panels that would be an immediate functional improvement.

Best of regards and see you soon riding a Wave with me,
Sam Katakouzinos
P.S. Again, thanks for the Google Wave invitation!